We’ve given up on weeding until we have another dry week. Can’t use the propane torch nor weed killers as it’s too wet and pulling them out by hand is futile as you can sit there and watch them grow back.
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I notice that SF is showing me winter menswear adverts. Do they know something we don’t?
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There will no subventions for the agriculteurs in 71 this year as there has been a hay crop and looking at the green outside, there may well be a second, if there is enough sun later on to ripen it.
Quoting someone I just can’t remember who said” I love the English Summer, it is the best day of the year” ! Sounds as if it’s caught on in France too😳
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good time to karcher though / wash cars etc is after the rain though. With everything still wet it’s easier if you are just cleaning. Better for cars too as wet dust particles will just fall off when hosed or car washed instead of scratching the paint as they are moved by the cleaning process but remain sticky
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Is it true it is illegal to wash your car here other than in a paid car wash?
in water shortage areas, yes. I don’t know if the designation of those is permanent, or declared specifically based on weather or (like open fires) banned only in certain months
Here in 86 they are put in place when required. I think they are controlled by the département but I always discover the status by checking the website of our Mairie.
I love the thought of Crunchy Grass Day, and will await it here in 49 where it is currently squeaky with rain.
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What! We’re in 24 too and it’s been horrid for quite a lot of the time. Rather like English weather, only hotter. Wild swimming sounds great though.
Ahh… so La Manche is deffo excluded
Gail, I’m between you and him and I think he may just have grown up somewhere very cold and tough and he doesn’t feel the cold 
! I’m in winter clothes again! No WAY could I swim in 17c - I struggled on Sunday in the pool at 23c!
Just had sausages, gravy, pommes risolles and a lovely fried cepe my friend gave me last night! Usually only eat sausages and gravy in winter, not middle of July!
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Activity is the secret, brief and furious if it is cold. I go straight in up to my neck, get over the shock quickly, then duck my head to get a better seal with my eye/ nose mask, then take a big breath (not an expert swimmer I can’t breath and swim at the same time) and swim rapidly to the other end, then a quick turn around, exhale/inhale and back again. 6 to 10 lengths like that and I feel great. I know I shouldn’t stay longer but I do climb out reluctantly sometimes. Then a swift, vigorous dry off and back in the house again, the whole thing is little more than 10 minutes start to finish.
Things can go wrong though, today I was swimming so fast that I created a bow wave like an Orca racing to catch seals, it rebounded off the end as I approached and hit me just as I, with my mouth wide open was gulping a fresh breath. A certain amount of coughing and spluttering ensued. 
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Lots of people do winter ocean swimming all over the world, I bet even in Sydney in winter it would be a similar water temp to your pond and it is meant to be very good for you!
I think I will stick to our hot tub at 38C 
I love to swim in the sea, though it is some years since we had a holiday. We used to go every year to a campsite owned by friends in the Vendee. It was more than a km walk over the sand dunes to the sea and I would go out with the dog(s) first thing after getting up in the morning. none of my dogs like the water and they would run up and down on the beach till I came out. But again, it wasn’t long to wait. I would wade as fast as I could into the breakers then dive at the base of a large wave as soon as I was at my depth. Then maximum 5 minutes swimming up and down parallel to the shore, straight out, dry off and then straight back to the cabin or caravan.
When I was night driving taxis in Sydney in the 60s I was straight into the sea on my way home to my flat on Ben Buckler at Bondi Beach. They told me the sharks love to feed at dawn and dusk, but obviously I didn’t look tasty enough. 
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Woken to 15 degrees and yet more rain. I feel so sorry for anyone here on holiday for the first two weeks of July - paying high season rates and so far they have had one day of summer.
I wore cargo trousers and a waterproof coat to the bar last night and I was very glad of both as the wind and rain gusted around the square.
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We set our inflatable hot tub up 2 weeks ago and I hopped in after filling up with water, a moderate 20°C - OH declined to join me and pointed out that it was called a hot tub for a reason
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